JP2003304460A - Information service system and broadcast reception system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To estimate and provide information desired by a user. <P>SOLUTION: The degree of interest of each user in each category is managed by an access history means 4. Users are identified by a user identifying means, and the specification of information to be used is accepted by an information selection input means. The specified information is read from an information source 6 by an interested information selecting means 5 and displayed on a monitor 8 via an editing means. On the other hand, the category to which the specified information belongs is decided by a user-specific access information categorizing means 3, and the decided category and the identified user are informed to an access history managing means. The degree of interest of the identified user in the informed category is increased by the access history means 4. When the specification for an automatic mode is accepted by the information selection input means, the category wherein the degree of interest of the user is set highest is informed to the interested information selecting means 5 by the access history means 4, and the information belonging to the informed category is read from the information source 6 and displayed on the monitor 8 via the editing means by the interested information selecting means 5. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information service system such as an electronic mail system, a database system, a television receiver, a radio receiver, etc., which provides a user with information selected from a plurality of information. It is about.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There are systems in various fields in which a user performs various operations to select desired information from a plurality of information and obtain it. For example, many information service systems such as television receivers, radio receivers, electronic mail systems, and database systems are known.

In such an information service system, as a technique for assisting the user in selecting information, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-284077 “Program Information”, which assists in selecting a television program to be watched in a television receiver, is known. The technology described in "Display and control device" is known.

[0004] This technique is for displaying a TV program information on a TV receiver, and for selecting a program by receiving instructions for program selection, program reservation, and recording on the displayed TV program information. , The user's annoyance of having to refer to the newspaper's program section or the magazine that publishes the program guide is alleviated.

In other words, this technique presents a list of information contained in an information source in an information service system, and accepts selection of information based on the presented information list, so It can be said that this is a technology that supports selection.

[0006]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention
In the case where the number of information items included in the information source is large even by the technique that assists the user in selecting information by presenting the list of information items included in the information source, as in the technique described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 077, The list contains more items, so
This causes a problem that the operation for finding the item of information desired by the user becomes complicated.

[0007] Further, for example, in the case where it is desired to uniformly provide the user who is in the education stage with the information necessary for the education of the user, it is necessary to entrust the user with all the information selection. There is a problem in that there is a bias in the information that is used.

[0008] It is an object of the present invention to provide an information service system capable of simply and more appropriately providing information desired by a user.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an information service system capable of notifying a user of insufficient information.

[0010]

The features of the present invention for achieving the above-mentioned object are that the learning means learns the classification of interest to the user from the access information of the user and the interest of the learned user. And an information selecting means for extracting and providing information belonging to the classification from an information source based on the classification.

The features of the present invention for achieving the above-mentioned other objects are as follows:
Means for storing a plurality of classifications to be used by the user, and means for searching for and outputting other classifications excluding the one of interest to the user among the plurality of classifications stored in the storage means It is equipped with and.

[0012]

According to the information service system of the present invention, the classification that the user is interested in is learned from the access information of the user, and the information that belongs to the classification based on the learned classification that the user is interested in. Since the information is taken out from the information source and provided, the information desired by the user can be easily estimated and the information desired by the user can be appropriately provided.

Further, according to the information service system of the present invention, a plurality of classifications stored in the storage means that should be used by the user are searched for other classifications except the classification in which the user is interested. Since the information is output as a result, it is possible to notify the user of information that the user lacks. Therefore, the user can easily obtain information about a new classification that he / she was not aware of.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the information service system according to the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of the information service system according to the first embodiment.

As shown in the figure, the information service system according to the first embodiment has a user identification determination means 1, an information selection input means 2, a user-specific access information classification means 3, an access history management means 4, and interest information. Determination means 5, information source 6, editing means 7, monitor 8, interest information index presentation means 9, template access information storage means 10, comparison means 11,
It has individual shortage information determining means 12, starting means 22, interest level input means 60, and access history resetting means 70.

The user identification judging means 1 accepts input of information for user identification for accessing information, and judges the user. As a method of user identification, assign the operation key to the user in advance, identify the user by pressing the operation key, etc., and input personally dependent information such as registered name and PIN. How to accept and identify the user, take a fingerprint, and then use the registered fingerprint pattern.
It is possible to adopt a method of identifying the user by comparing with the user. An ID card or the like can be used to input the information for user identification.

The information selection / input means 2 receives the designation of a mode to be described later and the designation of information to be accessed. The user access information classification means 3 determines the classification to which the designated information belongs. The information selection input means 2 also receives various operations such as print output, copy output, screen switching, screen scrolling, etc. of the information displayed on the monitor 8.

Each user of the access history management means 4
Access history information indicating the degree of interest in information of each category is managed. How to obtain the interest level will be described later. The interest information selecting means 5 is
According to the management content of the access history management means 4 (for example, the degree of interest in the corresponding user), it is taken out from the information source 6 and output to the editing means 7 as selection information 15. In the manual mode, the interest information selection means 5 provides the information source 6 with the information corresponding to the classification determined by the user access information classification means 3.
Take out from.

The information source 6 is, for example, a database (memory) that stores a plurality of information classified into a plurality of classifications or a plurality of broadcasting stations. The editing means 7 edits the selection information 15 and displays the edited information content on the monitor 8.

The interest level input means 60 inputs information about the interest level and weight information for obtaining the interest level by a direct operation by the user.

The interest information index presenting means 9 displays the information index on the monitor 8 via the editing means 7. The template access information storage means 10 is provided for each user,
The model of information classification to be used by the user is stored.
When activated by the activation unit 22, the comparison unit 11 causes the comparison unit 11 to store the model of the corresponding user stored in the template access information storage unit 10 and the degree of interest of the corresponding user managed by the access history management unit 4. Compare with. The individual shortage information judging means 12 judges the information lacking for the user based on the comparison result of the comparing means, and displays the classification of the information obtained by the judgment on the monitor 8 via the editing means 7. To do. The access history reset means 70 inputs the cancellation information of the access history information for each user stored in the memory 4b of the access history management means 4 by the operation of the user, and the cancellation information is the access history information management means. Output to 4. Cancellation information can be set for each user and classification.

Now, as shown in FIG. 2, the information source 6 belongs to a plurality of information categories such as a redundant configuration, a signal selection function, a transmission circuit configuration, a transmission code system, clothes, and Japanese clothes, respectively. We have information. In FIG. 2, in order to show that the first embodiment can be applied to various fields, the information source 6 which is a database is used in science and technology fields such as control technology and transmission technology, and clothing. It is shown as having information of information classification belonging to the commercial field such as mail order. By the way, when information of different fields is included in this way, the information source 6 may be realized as a set of information sources for each field.

The operation of the information service system according to the first embodiment will be described below.

First, the interest information index presenting means 9,
The operation when the template access information storage means 10 is not used will be described.

FIG. 3 shows the operation flow of the information service system in this case.

As shown in the figure, the information service system receives the user identification information directly from the user or through a terminal (not shown) or the like. The user access information classifying means 3 determines the user, and uses the user identification information for identifying the user obtained by the determination.
(Step 301). Next, the information selection input means 2 receives the request information for specifying the mode and the information to be accessed from the user, and outputs the result to the access information classifying means 3 for each user (step 302). In the first embodiment, the information service system has an "automatic mode".
There are two modes, "mode" and "manual mode". The user should include the designation of the information to be accessed in the request information only when the "manual mode" is designated. When the "automatic mode" is designated, the information service system estimates the information of high interest to the user and automatically selects the information. Therefore, when the user specifies the "automatic mode", the user need only input the identifying information and the information indicating the automatic mode.

Next, the user-by-user access information classification means 3 determines whether the mode designated by the request information from the information selection input means 2 is the automatic mode or the manual mode (step 303).

When the manual mode is designated, the user-by-user access information classifying means 3 outputs the information specifying the designated information to the interest information selecting means 5 from the input request information. In addition, the information classification to which the specified information belongs is determined, and classification designation data that designates the determined information classification is created, along with the user identification information that identifies the user,
Output to the access history management unit 4 (step 30)
4). The determination of the information classification to which the designated information belongs by the user-by-user access information classification means 3, for example, assigns one or more keywords to each information classification in advance,
Each information is assigned a keyword that shows a match or a partial match with the keyword assigned to the information classification to which the information belongs, and the information is designated by the keyword and entered. Information classification having a keyword that matches or partially matches a keyword can be performed by setting the information classification to which the information belongs. In particular,
For example, it can be realized by an inference means such as an if-then type having a condition part and a conclusion part.

The access history management means 4 fetches the information (user identification information and classification designation data) from the user-specific access information classification means 3 and stores these information in the memory 4b.
(Step 305).

On the other hand, the interest information selecting means 5 takes out from the information source 6 the information belonging to the classification specified by the classification designation data outputted from the user-specific access information classification means 3 (step 306). After that, the interest information selection means 5
Outputs the information extracted from the information source 6 to the editing means 7 as the selection information 15 and outputs the confirmation information 19 indicating that to the access history management means 4. If there is no designated information in the information source 6, the interest information selection means 5 determines that there is no corresponding information, and outputs information indicating that fact to the editing means 7 (step 307).

The editing means 7, which has received the information from the interest information selecting means 5, edits the information so that the user can easily see it and outputs it to the monitor 8 (step 308).

On the other hand, the access history management means 4 determines whether the confirmation information 19 from the interest information selection means 5 has continued for a certain period, or the monitor 8 using the access display information 18.
It is determined whether the user is accessing the information displayed on the screen (step 309). This judgment is to judge whether the information selected from the information source 6 was the one that the user wanted to obtain, and in any of the above cases, the user obtained the desired information. Try to determine that you have accessed the object, that is, the desired information. Here, the access display information 18 is a print output, a copy output, or a copy output of the information displayed on the monitor 8 by the user.
When you perform screen switching, screen scrolling, etc.,
It is the information output from the information selection input means 2 based on the information input to the information selection input means 2. In other words, if the access display information 18 is generated, the user is interested in this information and can be said to be the desired information. Further, that the confirmation signal 19 is generated for a certain time or more means that the user is looking at the display information with interest. If it is not the desired information, the user inputs information for obtaining other information to the information selection input means 2, so if the duration of the confirmation signal 19 is judged, the user desires it. It is possible to judge whether or not the information that has been obtained can be obtained.

When the confirmation information 19 continues for a certain period, or when the user is accessing the information displayed on the monitor 8, the access history management means 4 first temporarily stores it in the memory 4b. The interest degree of the information classification designated by the classification designation data in the access history information of the user identified by the user identification information is updated (step 310). That is, the degree of interest in the information classification corresponding to the corresponding user is called from the memory 4b and updated in the direction of increasing the degree of interest. The new interest level obtained by the update is associated with the corresponding information classification and stored in the memory 4b as access history information. The above-described steps 310 and processing are processing for learning the classification in which the user is interested based on the access information of the user. Details of how to obtain the interest level in the update will be described later. The access history management means 4
If the access history information of the user has not been created yet, create it at this point. If the access history information does not include the information classification item specified by the classification designation data, the information classification item is created in the access history information at this point, and the obtained interest level is registered in the memory 4b. To do.

On the other hand, when the confirmation information 19 does not continue for a certain period and the user does not access the information displayed on the monitor 8, the access history management information is not updated and the access history management is not updated. The means 4 clears the user identification information and the classification designation data temporarily stored in the memory 4b, and ends the processing.

In step 303, if the user-specific access information classification means 3 determines that the mode designated by the request information from the information selection input means 2 is the automatic mode, the user-specific access information is accessed. The information classification unit 3 outputs only the user identification information that identifies the user to the access history management unit 4 (step 312). Upon receiving this, the access history management unit 4 refers to the access history information (stored in the memory 4b) about the user specified by the user identification information, and selects the most interest from among the plurality of information classifications for the specified user. The information classification having a high degree is output to the interest information selection means 5 as classification designation data (step 31)
3). This information category with the highest degree of interest is the information category in which the user is interested.

The interest information selecting means 5 searches for the information belonging to the received information classification and extracts the searched information from the information source 6 (step 314). Step 314 exerts a function as a means for extracting information belonging to the category from the information source based on the category of interest of the user learned in step 310 in the past.

After that, when the information belonging to the information category having the highest degree of interest does not exist in the information source 6 in step 307, it is determined that there is no corresponding information, and the information indicating that is output to the editing means 7. Except that the classification designation data does not need to be cleared in step 311, the above-mentioned operation in the manual mode, steps 307 to 31.
The same operation as 1 is performed.

It should be noted that the determination as to whether or not the information belonging to the relevant information classification exists in the information source 6 is performed by, for example, the information source 6
The information in the above is attached with a keyword that matches or partially matches the keyword assigned to the information classification,
This can be realized by determining whether or not there is a match with the keyword assigned to the information classification.

Here, as described above, a method of obtaining the interest level of each information classification of the access history information provided for each user will be described.

First, the first method is to obtain each information classification,
This is a method of determining how often the user has accessed the information belonging to each category, and using this as the degree of interest in the information category. In this case, for example, in step 310, the value of the degree of interest is increased. Alternatively, in step 310, the time at which the user has accessed the information belonging to the information classification is recorded in the access history information, and in step 313, the number of times of access within a certain past period is used as the degree of interest. Alternatively, in step 310, the time when the user has accessed the information belonging to the information classification is recorded in the access history information, the number of times of access within a certain period in the past is periodically obtained, and the interest level is updated with this value. To do so.

Next, the second method is a method in which the frequency obtained in the first method is weighted in advance for each information classification, and this is used as the degree of interest. Such a weight is appropriately determined according to the usage mode of the information service system, such as when there is an information category of particular interest or when there is an information category which the user wants to use particularly.

The third method is to configure the access history management means 4 using a neural network. This method will be described in the second embodiment described later.
A specific example will be described.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, if the information is used in both the manual mode and the automatic mode, the degree of interest in the information classification to which the used information belongs is increased to the user. After that, when the user tries to obtain the information in the automatic mode, the information belonging to the information category having a high degree of interest can be automatically presented.

In the above description, the user-specific access information classification means 3 determines the information classification to which the specified information belongs, but the user inputs the information classification directly from the information selection input means 2. You may

When the information is updated or added to the information source 6 in the automatic mode designation, the degree of interest of the information classification to which the information belongs and the information classification to which the information currently used belongs. If the information classification to which the updated or added information belongs has a higher interest level, the updated or added information is displayed on the monitor 8 instead of the currently used information. You may do it.
Further, in this case, the interest information selection means 5 refers to the access history management means 4, adds the information selection reason to the information selected from the information source 6, and outputs the information to the editing means 7, and the editing means 7 For example, the monitor 8 has a screen configuration as shown in FIG.
By displaying the information selection reason on the screen, the user can be notified of the information selection reason, and the user will not be confused. Here, the information selection reason includes the information classification, the degree of interest of the user with respect to the information classification, and the like.

Further, in the automatic mode designation, when information belonging to an information category having a higher degree of interest than the information category to which the currently displayed information belongs is updated or added to the information source 6, the index of the information concerned. May be displayed and the switching of the information to be displayed may be accepted.

In steps 307 and 308 (see FIG. 3), the interest information selecting means 5 is in the automatic mode.
However, the information selection reason may be added to the information selected from the information source 6 and output to the editing means 7, and the editing means 7 may display the information selection reason on the monitor 8. By doing so, it is possible for the user to automatically grasp what the information of high interest to the user is, and the reason for selection is presented so that the user is selected. You can easily understand what kind of information the information is.

Further, in the above description, the degree of interest of each information classification is managed for each user. However, for each user, the degree of interest of each information classification is managed for each usage situation. Good. The information on the situation of use is, for example, the day of the week, the time of day, the mood of the user at the time of use, the reason for accessing the information, and the like.
That is, at the time of the manual mode designation and the automatic mode designation, the information selection input means 2 also receives or observes the usage status at the step 301, and the access information classification means for each user. 3, the user-specific access information classifying means 3 sends the classification designation data including the status at the time of use, and the access history managing means calculates and manages the degree of interest of each information classification for each user. The information is selected from the information source 6 in the automatic mode by monitoring the information belonging to the information category having the highest degree of interest in the current usage state. To be displayed in 8.
This allows the user to obtain and manage the degree of interest in each information classification under each situation, and to provide information according to the situation at the time of use at the time of automatic mode. . It should be noted that access control information for managing the degree of interest for each field (see FIG. 2) and access management information for managing the degree of interest for each information category are hierarchically provided for each user, and the degree of interest is hierarchical. You may make it manage.

The interest level input means 60 functions by the user operating a predetermined key (for example, a key clearly indicating the interest level) on the keyboard provided in the terminal. When the user is interested in the information for the information classification that has been low in interest until now, the memory 4B is used by using the interest level input means 60.
The interest level data stored within can be updated. If such a function is not provided, in the manual mode, the user can retrieve information of new interest from the information source 6 and provide it, but in the automatic mode, it cannot. This is because the degree of interest in the newly interested information classification stored in the memory 4B is low, so even if the user specifies the information corresponding to the information classification, steps 312 to 314 and 307 to 30 are specified.
This is because the processing of 9 retrieves information for another information classification having a high degree of interest from the information source 6 and provides it to the monitor 8. The above-mentioned problem is solved by the interest level input means 60 and the processing related to this means 60.

That is, the degree-of-interest input means 60 operates by operating the predetermined key. The interest level input means 60 fetches from the memory 4B all data classifications and interest level data for these users based on the user identification information input from the keyboard, and outputs them to the editing means 7. A command signal is output to the access history management means 4. The editing unit 7 outputs to the monitor 8 all the information classifications output from the access history management unit 4 and the data of the degree of interest in these information classifications. The user designates the information classification to which the information newly interested this time belongs from the information classification displayed on the monitor 8 by using an input means such as a mouse or a light pen. Further, the user selects the menu items of “increased interest degree” and “decreased interest degree” displayed on the monitor 8 until the degree of interest of the specified information category becomes the largest as compared with the interest degree of the remaining information categories. Of these, the former “increased interest” will continue to be indicated with the mouse. This increase in interest can be stopped at any level by stopping the mouse instruction. When the menu item "decrease degree of interest" is designated, the degree of interest of the specified information classification decreases. The interest level input means 60 performs the process of designating an information category of new interest by the above operation and setting the interest level for the designated information category. The specified information classification and the data of the degree of interest in this information classification are transmitted to the access history management means 4. The access history management means 4 uses the memory 4 based on these designated information categories and the data of the degree of interest in the information categories.
Update the interest level for the specified information class stored in B.

Therefore, even in the automatic mode, step 3
By the processing of 12 to 314 and 307 to 309, it is possible for the user to easily retrieve information of new interest from the information source 6 and provide it to the monitor 8.

The access history reset means 70 executes the following processing. Similar to the interest level input means 60, the user operates a predetermined key (for example, a key clearly designated as reset) on the keyboard, whereby the access history reset means 70 operates. The access history resetting means 70 outputs a command signal to the access history managing means 4 based on the user identification information input from the keyboard, similarly to the interest degree inputting means 60. As a result, all the information categories for the user and the data of the degree of interest in these information categories are retrieved from the memory 4B, and the editing means 7
Is output and displayed on the monitor 8. The user uses the mouse or the like to specify the information category whose interest level is to be reset among the information categories displayed on the monitor 8. The access history resetting means 70 sets the interest degree of the information classification for which the interest degree is to be reset to zero, and informs the access history managing means 4 of this value. The access history management means 4 is a memory 4
The interest degree of the information classification stored in B is updated to zero. In this way, the degree of interest in the information classification and the access history information in the memory 4B can be reset, and it is possible to prevent the user from being provided with information that is no longer of interest.

Next, the operation of the information service system according to the first embodiment when the interest information index presenting means 9 is used will be described.

The access history management means 4 determines that there are a plurality of pieces of information that belong to the information category of high interest to the user, or that there are multiple pieces of information category of high interest to the user.
The index of each information belonging to these information classifications is displayed on the monitor. When the index of the information that the user wants to use is selected from the plurality of displayed indexes, the index of interest presenting means accepts it, and the information corresponding to this index is selected from the information source 6. The information classification having a high degree of interest to the user is an information classification in which the user is interested.

Specifically, in the automatic mode, the access history management means 4 has one or a plurality of information classifications (user interests) in which the degree of interest of the user specified by the user identification information is higher than a certain level. Output a plurality of information classifications) having the interest information selection means 5. When the information source 6 has information belonging to one or more specified information classifications, the interest information selection means 5 provides the access history management means 4 with the index information 2 for the indexes of all the corresponding information for each information classification.
Return as 0. The interest information selecting means 5 extracts the information belonging to the category from the information source based on the information category (the category specified by the category specifying data) in which the user is interested, and at least one information category. When there are a plurality of pieces of information extracted for each piece of information, it has means for outputting each index corresponding to each piece of information.

Here, the index may be assigned to the information in advance, or the index may be assigned by the interest information selecting means 5. As an example of allocation by the interest information selection means 5, an information title or a predetermined number of characters in the information title is used as an index, or depending on the information,
A specific number of keywords may be selected and used as an index.

The access history managing means 4 takes in the index information 20, adds the degree of interest of the information classification to which the information corresponding to the index information belongs to these index information, and edit means 7 and interest information index presenting means 9 Is output as index information 14 with interest level. The editing means 7 displays the input index specified by this index information on the monitor 8.

The indexes are displayed on the monitor 8 in a form in which the degree of interest in the information classification to which the information corresponding to each index belongs can be understood. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the indexes are arranged and displayed in the descending order of the degree of interest, or a number indicating the degree of interest (for example, the highest one is 1,
For the second highest item, 2, ...) Is added to the head of the index and displayed, or the color of the index is changed according to the interest level.

Next, when the editing means operates the cursor displayed on the monitor 8 via the information selection input means 2 to select the desired index on the display, this information is displayed as the information selection input means 2 Entered by. The information selection input means 2 outputs this information to the interest information index presenting means 9 and the editing means 7. The editing means 7 executes processing such as turning on the selected index according to this information.

On the other hand, interest information index presenting means 9
Outputs the index selection information 13 for designating the selected index to the access history management means 4. The access history management means 4 outputs the index selection information to the interest information selection means 5. The interest information selecting means 5 selects the information corresponding to the index designated by the index selecting information from the information source 6 and outputs it as the selection information 15 to the editing means 7. The editing means 7 outputs the information to the monitor 8. Further, the access history management unit 4 updates the degree of interest in the information classification of the access history information of the user to which the information corresponding to the index belongs.

If there is no selection operation from the user even after a certain period of time has passed since the index was displayed on the monitor 8, the access history managing means 4 causes the interest information index presenting means 9 and the editing means 7 to operate. To stop the output of the index information 14. As a result, the index displayed on the monitor 8 is erased.

However, after this, if the user inputs to the information user identification judging means 1 for user identification, the index is output again to the monitor 8 in accordance with the processing described above. Further, when an index display instruction is input from the information selection input means 2, the information selection input means 2 adds this information to the access display information 18 and outputs it to the access history management means 4 and receives it. The access history management means 4
The index information 20 may be output again to the editing means 7 and displayed on the monitor 8.

As described above, if the interest information index presenting means 9 is used, when there are a plurality of information categories having a high degree of interest to the user or there are a plurality of information corresponding to the information categories, an outline of these information is provided. It is possible to present an index indicating "" to allow the user to select.

By outputting the access history information 16 and the index information 14 to which the degree of interest is added negatively to the external device through the output means 21, it is possible to determine what information each user is interested in. It becomes possible to grasp it externally. For example, via the output means 21,
By storing this information in a portable floppy (registered trademark) or memory card and reading it with an external device, the external device can identify the information of interest to each user. , Can be analyzed. Further, the output information of the output means 21 may be transmitted to another device via the communication system.

In any case, if this information is used in the commercial field, it is possible to know what category of information the individual is interested in. It is possible to take measures such as finding out an information classification having a large number of users with a high degree of interest, strengthening sales of products related to information parts with a high degree of interest, and advertisement. Further, it is possible to apply the information in a similar manner to the mass media field and positively provide the interested information. That is, it becomes possible to sell products and advertise products by grasping market trends.

Regarding the detection of the information classification having a large number of users having a high degree of interest, the degree of interest of each user is evaluated for each information classification and the information classification having a large number of users having a high degree of interest is searched. You can figure it out by doing.

Even when the interest information index presenting means 9 is used, the degree of interest may be managed or processed for each of the above-mentioned usage situations.

Next, the operation of the information service system according to the first embodiment when the template access information storage means 10 is used will be described.

The template access information storage means 10 stores template access information indicating a model of information classification to be used by each user or users belonging to a specific group. This template access information is necessary for obtaining general knowledge about various fields, and is the item information of the information classification to which the information necessary for obtaining specialized knowledge about a specific field belongs. It may be item information of the information classification to which such information belongs. The content depends on what purpose the user is trying to obtain the information.

The template access information can be stored in a portable information medium such as a memory card, a ROM card, a floppy disk, etc., and provided to the information service system. It is also possible to store the template access information in the template access information storage means 10 using a communication system or the like.

Now, FIG. 6 shows a flow of operation when the template access information storage means 10 is used.

The template access information storage means 10 inputs the user identification information from the user identification determination means 1, selects the template access information for the user specified by the user identification information, and the comparison means 11 Stationery access information 17
Is output (step 602).

On the other hand, the access history management means 4 does not supply the information classification to the interest information selection means 5 when the lacking information presentation is designated by the activation means, and the user identification determination means 1 sends the information classification. The user identification information is input, and the access history information for the user identified by the user identification information is output to the comparison means 11 (step 602).

The comparison means 11 uses the template access information 17
And access history information 16 are input and compared (step 603). Specifically, of the access history information 16,
Comparing high-interest classification designation data with template access information. Then, the individual shortage information 12 is compared with the comparison means 11
Based on the comparison result of, search the information classification items included in the template access information that are not of high interest in the access history information (excluding the information classifications that the user is interested in) Then, this information classification item is output to the editing means 7 as insufficient information for the user (step 604).

The editing means 7 displays on the monitor 8 the items of the information classification designated by the received lack information.

Here, since the lack information displayed on the monitor 8 is information indicating what kind of information classification information is lacking for the user, the user needs to display this lack information displayed. By looking at it, it becomes possible to easily grasp the information items and information fields that are lacking for me. Therefore, it is possible to obtain the information of the information classification suitable for the model indicated by the template access information selected by the user by subsequently obtaining the lacking information. Such a function is very useful for improving the knowledge of the user and is suitable for application to an individual (or group) support system such as an education system.

An application example of the information service system according to the present invention to a television system will be described below as a second embodiment of the present invention. That is, the case where the information of the information source is one program.

FIG. 7 shows the configuration of the television system according to the second embodiment.

As shown in the figure, the television system according to the second embodiment has a television 38, a video signal storage means 41, a remote controller 30 for controlling them, and a remote controller 42 for copying or receiving information stored in the remote controller 30. , Has a survey terminal 43.

The external appearance of the remote controller 30 shown in FIG. 8 is shown.

As shown in the figure, the remote controller 30 has various keys, a memory card port for mounting a memory card, and an output terminal for the remote controller 42 or the survey terminal 43.

Now, the television 38 has a tuner 39 for inputting and selecting a video signal from the antenna 37, a channel selecting means 36,
Alternatively, in accordance with the control signal of the channel selecting means in the television, either the output signal of the tuner 39 or the output signal of the recording device 41 is output to the editing means 7A, the output means 40 outputs information from the remote controller 30, and the output means. It has an editing means 7A for editing the output signal from 40 and a monitor 8A for displaying the output signal of the editing means 7A.

The remote controller 30 includes a program memory card 32,
OR input means 44, program information storage means 33, user-specific access information classification means 34, access history management means 4A,
User identification determination means 1A, channel selection input means 35, interest information index presentation means 9A, channel selection means 36, output means 2
1A, template access information storage means 10A, comparison means 1
1A, individual shortage information determination means 12A, activation means 22,
It has a classification sequence selection means 63, an interest level input means 60, and an access history resetting means 70.

In the second embodiment, the program memory card 32
The program information for several weeks is stored and mounted on the remote controller 30. The program information in the program memory card 32 is stored in the program information storage means 33 via the OR input means 44 all or once a week.

Further, in the second embodiment, each broadcasting station broadcasts program information in addition to video information, and this television system uses the tuner 39 to receive the program information received by the antenna 37 and the tuner 39. Each time the program information is detected, the OR input means 44 is added to the program information storage means 33 in the remote controller 30.
Remember through. For example, the broadcast program information is
As long as the program information for one week is received by the tuner 39, the program information storage means 3 in the remote controller 30 is received.
The program information for one week stored in No. 3 is updated via the OR input means 44. If each broadcasting station transmits program information broadcast by all broadcasting stations, the tuner can detect the program information regardless of which program is selected.

The program information includes information such as program name, broadcast date, broadcast time zone, classification to which each program belongs.

The user identification judging means 1A is a means for judging who is using the television. To identify the user, as shown in FIG. 8, the remote controller 30 is provided with a key group 800 assigned to each user, and is identified according to the key operation. However, each method of user identification as described in the first embodiment may be used.

The channel selection input means 35 accepts a mode designation, which will be described later, and a channel designation. The channel selection unit 36 and the tuner 39 specify a program to be received, a video signal storage unit to specify a program to be stored or reproduced, and a video signal output from the output unit. The classification sequence selection means 63 accepts designation of how to calculate and manage the interest level for each classification.

User-specific access information classification means 34, access history management means 4A, user identification determination means 1A, interest information index presentation means 9A, output means 21A, template access information storage means 10A, comparison means 11A, individual use. The shortage information determination means 12A, the activation means 22, the interest level input means 60, and the access history resetting means 70 have the same functions as the components of the same name of the information service system according to the first embodiment, so description thereof will be omitted.

The operation of the television system according to the second embodiment will be described below.

First, the interest information index presenting means 9
A. The operation when the template access information storage unit 10A is not used will be described.

FIG. 9 shows the flow of operation in this case.

As shown in the figure, in this case, first, the user identification judging means 1A assigns a key group 80 assigned to each user.
According to 0, the user is determined by the above-described method (processing of step 301), and the user identification information for identifying the user obtained by the determination is output to the user access information classification means 34 (step 901). The tuning means 35 includes three keys "automatic" 801 and "tuning" 8 of the remote controller 30 shown in FIG.
02, "manual" 803 input is received, and the result is output to the user-by-user access information classification means 34 (step 902). The user-specific access information classification unit 34 determines whether the mode designation is the automatic mode, the channel selection mode, or the manual mode based on the result obtained from the information selection input unit 35 (step 903).

Here, the automatic mode is a mode in which the television system automatically selects a program desired by the user. Therefore, in the automatic mode, only the information that identifies the user and the information that indicates the automatic mode are
The user only needs to input. Next, the channel selection mode is a mode in which the user directly selects a program. In tuning mode,
The user selects a channel using the channel key 804, and the television system learns the interest level of the user according to the program corresponding to the selected station. Further, the manual mode is a mode in which the user simply selects a channel using the channel key 804. In this mode, the channel is selected, but the television system selects the selected program as an object of interest level learning. do not do.

First, when the mode determined in step 903 is the channel selection mode, the user-specific access information classification means 34 refers to the program information storage means 32, and the user identification determination means 1A selects the channel. By using the key 804, classification designation data for designating the classification to which the program broadcast at the station received is created, and is output to the access history management unit 4A together with the user identification information for specifying the user input in step 901 ( Step 904). The access history management means 4A is a user-specific access information classification means 3
The information (user identification information and classification designation data) from No. 4 is fetched, and these information are temporarily stored in the memory 4b (step 905). The tuning means 36 selects a program belonging to the classification specified by the classification designation data output from the user-specific access information classification means 34 by the tuner 39 of the television 38 or the user 41A (of the recording device 41). 16) is controlled (step 906). The tuning by such a tuner is to take out the information for the program specified by the classification designation data from the plurality of information transmitted from the plurality of broadcasting stations which are the information sources. In step 906, the tuning unit 36 also controls the output unit 40.

The editing means 7A outputs the video signal obtained by tuning and input from the output means 40 to the monitor 8A (step 907).

On the other hand, the access history management unit 4A outputs the channel selection information to the channel selection unit 36 and then there is no other operation input for a certain period, or the user operates the OK key 805 to input the channel selection. Understanding information output by the means 18
It is determined whether A is output (step 908). This is a function to determine whether the selected program was the one that the user wanted to watch, and in any of the above cases, the user is judged to have acquired the desired program. To do.
When the user agrees to the displayed program, the user operates the OK key.

The access history management means 4A executes step 9
If the determination result in 08 is positive, that is, if there is no input of another operation for a certain period after outputting the information for channel selection to the channel selection means 36, or if the consent information 18A is output,
In the access history information of the user designated by the user identification information, the degree of interest of the category designated by the temporarily designated category designation data is updated (step 909). Step 909 is
Similar to step 310 described above, this is a process of learning the classification in which the user is interested based on the access information of the user. Details of access history information, program classification, and degree of interest learning used in the second embodiment will be described later.

If the result of the determination in step 908 is negative, as shown in step 10, the access history management means 4A clears the classification designation data temporarily stored in the memory 4b and ends the operation (step 910).

Next, when the mode determined in step 903 is the automatic mode, the user-specific access information classification means 34 outputs the user identification information to the access history management means 4A (step 911). . The access history management means 4A reads the access history information of the user designated by the user identification information, determines the category having the highest degree of interest, and outputs the determined category to the channel selection means 36 (step 912). The channel selection means 36 is the program information storage means 32.
The tuner 3 is selected so as to select a station broadcasting a program belonging to the inputted classification and output it to the editing means 7A.
9. Control the output means 40 (step 915). Step 915 performs the same function as step 314.

After that, as in the channel selection mode, the processes of step 907, step 908, and step 909 are performed, and the process ends.

On the other hand, if the mode determined in step 903 is the manual mode, the user-by-user access information classification means 34 outputs the tuning content to the tuning means 36 (step 913), and the tuning means 36 The tuner 39 and the output means 40 so that the designated station is selected and output to the editing means 7A.
Is controlled (step 914), and the process ends.

In the second embodiment as well, similar to the first embodiment described above, when the automatic mode is designated, the program information storage means 32 is referred to, and it is time to start broadcasting a new program. In this case, the degree of interest in the category to which the program belongs is compared with the degree of interest in the category to which the currently displayed program belongs. If the category to which the program to be broadcast belongs has a higher degree of interest, You may make it display on the monitor 8 by switching to the program whose broadcasting is started. Alternatively, when the automatic mode is designated, the program information storage unit 32 is referred to, and when it is time to start broadcasting a new program, the degree of interest in the category to which the program belongs and the program currently displayed. When the category to which the program to be broadcast belongs is higher in interest, the program name of the program to be broadcast is displayed on the monitor 8 and the candidate key 809 is compared.
When the designation of switching is received by the operation of and the designation of the next candidate program is received, the channel selection may be switched to the program to start broadcasting and the display on the monitor may be performed. In addition, in these cases, etc., the channel selection means 3 in the automatic mode.
When channel No. 6 selects a channel, the user can be notified of the reason for selecting the program by always displaying the reason for selecting the program on monitor 8A by superimposing it on the video in the screen configuration shown in FIG. , Does not confuse the user. In this case, the access history management unit 4A passes the program classification, the degree of interest of the user to the program classification, and the like to the editing unit 7A and includes them in the program selection reason to be displayed.

Further, the access history management means 4A refers to the program information storage means 33, and is interested in the program name currently being broadcast belonging to the same classification as the selected program or the classification to which the selected program belongs. The program name or the like currently being broadcast which belongs to the high frequency category is passed to the editing means 7A, and the editing means 7A displays it.
As shown in 0, it may be displayed as the next candidate by being superimposed on the image. Then, when the designation of the next candidate program is accepted by the operation of the candidate key 809, and when the designation of the next candidate program is accepted, the channel selection is switched to the next candidate program,
You may make it display on a monitor. It should be noted that such display and selection of the next candidate can be similarly performed in the first embodiment by using the index described above instead of the program name.

When the reset key 815 of the remote controller 30 is pressed, the access history resetting means operates, and the processing for resetting the degree of interest as described in the first embodiment is executed.

Here, as described above, the details of the access history information, the program classification, and the degree of interest learning used in the second embodiment will be described.

First, access history information and program classification will be described.

FIG. 11 shows an example of access history information provided for each user.

As shown in the figure, the access history information shown in FIG. 11 is the access history information of the user A 1103.
The degree of interest 1102 of the user for each category 1100 is registered in each broadcast time zone 1101. That is, the usage time zone is used as the usage status. As for the use time zone, the observed use time zone is observed, and the user-specific access information classifying means 34 outputs it by including it in the classification designation data, and the access history managing means manages the degree of interest for each time zone. To In addition to the time zone, the day of use may be included in the classification designation data to manage and process the degree of interest for each day of the week.

Further, in this example, a small genre such as English (education) or baseball (sports), which is provided for each large genre such as education or sports, is used as the classification of the program.

However, the classification method may be different for each user. That is, one classification is assigned to each program, the large genre is classified into one, for example, sports programs are classified into women's sports and men's sports, or ball games and other sports. You may In this case, models of several classification examples are stored in advance in the user-specific access information classification means 34, and each model is monitored through the access history management means 36 and the editing means 7A.
A model is displayed on the display A, and each user is allowed to select a model on the display by using the classification series selection key 806, and the classification series selection means 63 is displayed.
The selected model is registered in the user-specific access information classification means 34 for the user.

The above-mentioned key for inputting the use situation is provided on the remote controller, the degree of interest is managed for each input use situation, and the processing using the interest degree is performed for each use situation. Good. 12 and 13 show an example in which the degree of interest is managed for each usage situation by providing access history information for each usage situation of the user. The examples shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 are examples in which the mood 1201 of the user is used as the use-time situation.

Next, details of the interest level learning method used in the second embodiment will be described.

Also in the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the value of the degree of interest of the corresponding category is increased in step 909 to obtain the frequency of access to the relevant category, and this is used as the degree of interest. Alternatively, the access time may be recorded in the access history information, and the number of accesses within a certain past period may be used as the degree of interest, or the obtained frequency may be weighted in advance for each information classification. , This may be the degree of interest. In this case, the user-specific access information classification unit 34 displays the classification used by the user on the monitor 8A via the access history management unit 36 and the editing unit 7A, and the degree of interest to each user is displayed on the display. The weight of each classification is set by the input key 807. The interest level input means 60 registers the weight of each classification set by the interest level input key 807 in the access history management means 4A. The access history management unit 4A performs weighting using the weight registered in the frequency. Further, such a weight may be a weight that determines the priority of selection when a plurality of classifications having the same frequency exist.

Further, as described above, the access history management means may be constructed using a neural network so that the degree of interest may be learned. Hereinafter, this case will be described.

FIG. 14 shows the configuration of a neural network system provided in the access history management means 4A for storing and learning access history information. The configuration of FIG. 14 performs the process of step 909 of the second embodiment. In the figure,
Reference numerals 402 and 404 are switching means, 403A to 403N are neural networks provided for each user, and 405 is learning control means.

Regarding the neural network itself,
For example, The MIT Press Parallel
el Distributed Process
g, 1988, 7th edition, pp. 318 to 362, etc., this is a generally known technique, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted.

Each input 401 of each neural network
1 to 401i correspond to the respective categories used by the corresponding users. For example, the input 401 of the neural network 403A of the user A using the categories shown in FIG.
1 corresponds to the classification “English”, and input 4012 corresponds to the classification “French”. The outputs 4021 to 402i also correspond to the respective categories used by the corresponding users.
In the neural network 403A of the user A using the classification shown in FIG. 11, the output 4021 corresponds to the classification “English” and the output 4012 corresponds to the classification “French”.

Now, when the interest level is updated in the channel selection mode or the automatic mode (step 909), the access history management means 4A causes the learning of such a neural network as follows. When the user identification information specifies the user A, the switching control unit selects the neural network 403A corresponding to the user A by the switching units 402 and 403. And step 90
If the determination result in 8 is positive, that is, if there is no operation input for a certain period of time after the information for channel selection is output to the channel selection unit 36,
Alternatively, when the consent information 18A is output, or when a program is selected using an index described later,
The signal 430 causes the learning control means 405 to
The learning control unit 405 refers to the program information storage unit 32, and among the inputs 4011 to 401i of the selected neural network 403A, the one corresponding to the classification to which the currently broadcast program belongs is set to the value 1, and the other ones. Of 0, the output values of the outputs 4021 to 402i corresponding to the classification to which the selected program belongs is 1 and the other output values are 0, and the learning data is stored. And
The neural network is trained by using the learning control signal together with the training data created in the past. In this way, the degree of interest in each classification is learned by giving an example of actual program selection to the neural network. Specifically, the neural network determines the weight inside the neural network connecting the input and the output from the given examples of the input and the output. It should be noted that the learning data used for learning may be only the learning data created this time and the learning data for a certain period in the past from the present.

The access history managing means 4A uses the access history managing means 4A to obtain a category having a high degree of interest to the user in step 912 in the automatic mode or to obtain a category having a high degree of interest to the user by using an index described later. The learning of such a neural network is performed as follows. When the user identification information specifies the user A, the switching control unit selects the neural network 403A corresponding to the user A by the switching units 402 and 403. Then, the access history management means 4A has the program information storage means 3
2, the selected neural network 403 is selected.
Of the inputs 4011 to 401i of A, the one corresponding to the classification to which the program currently being broadcast belongs has a value of 1, and the other ones have a value of 0. Upon receiving this input, the neural network 403A outputs, as the outputs 4021 to 402i, the content already learned, that is, a value according to the determined internal weight. For example, a value of 0.7 for the output corresponding to the category "English" being broadcast, a value 0.4 for the output corresponding to the category "French" being broadcast, and the like according to the degree of interest learned. Is output. Further, the value 0 is output to the output corresponding to the classification not being broadcast.

The learning control means determines and outputs a class having a higher degree of interest of the user or a class higher than a certain value from these outputs.

As described above, such a neural network can be applied to the first embodiment, but in this case, a neural network may be provided for each field. In addition, in the first and second embodiments, the use situation and day of the week may be added to the input, but a neural network may be provided for each use situation and day of the week.

Next, the operation of the television system according to the second embodiment when the interest information index presenting means 9A is used will be described.

The operation in this case is almost the same as the operation when the interest information index presenting means 9 is used in the information service system according to the first embodiment.

The different points are that the information is a program, that the index is the program name, and that the index is obtained from the stored contents of the program information storage means 33.

Specifically, the access history storage means 4A
Is a program belonging to a category of the user having a high degree of interest under the specified use situation, and the program name of the program currently being broadcast is obtained from the program information storage means 33, and the program belongs to this. The difference is that the degree of interest of classification is added and output as index information with interest 14A to the editing means 7A and the interest information index presenting means 9A. Further, the user can select a program using the displayed index by operating the candidate key 809 of the remote controller 30 to select the channel selection input means 35.
Accept.

In the television system according to the second embodiment, instead of the index, it is a program belonging to a category having a high degree of interest of the user under the specified usage situation and is currently being broadcast. The video that is the content of the program of the program,
It may be displayed on the monitor 8A. in this case,
From the programs belonging to the category with higher interest, n programs are selected in order, and each sub-screen obtained by dividing the screen of the monitor 8A into n sub-screens is displayed in the order of belonging to the class with higher interest. Display the image. Then, the selection of the program is accepted on the display.

By outputting the access history information 16 and the index information 14A added with the degree of interest to another remote controller through the output terminal 810 of the remote controller by the output means 21A, the program information in which the individual is interested can be changed. Can be ported to the remote control of. Further, similar to the information service system of the first embodiment, these pieces of information may be transmitted to the survey terminal 43.

Next, the operation of the television system according to the first embodiment when using the template access information storage means 10A will be described.

FIG. 15 shows the operation of the television system in this case. As shown in the figure, the template access information storage means 10 is operated by the template activation key 811 of the remote controller 30.
The description is omitted because it is the same as the operation when using the template access information storage means 10 of the information service system according to the first embodiment except that the operation using A is activated and the information is a program. To do.

Next, in the second embodiment, the recording device 4
The operation of recording a program of high interest to the user and the operation of reproducing the program of high interest to the user recorded in the recording device 41 will be described in No. 1.

First, when storing a program of high interest to the user in the recording device 41, the VTR 81 of the remote controller 30 is used.
2. Press the recording 813 and automatic 801 keys, and specify the user with the user key 800. Information obtained by these operations is input to the user identification determination means 1A and the tuning input means 35. After that, by the same operation as in FIG. 9, the program being broadcast which belongs to the category having the highest interest degree of the user is selected. After that, as shown in FIG.
Gives the tuner 41A a tuning signal 41C designating a station broadcasting the selected program, and causes the tuner 41A to select a program having a high degree of interest to the user. Then, the recording means 41B is controlled by the recording signal 41D to record this program. The storage medium used by the recording means 41B is a tape,
Various information storage media such as floppy disks and optical disks can be applied. When recording the program, the recording unit 41B outputs an address 45 indicating to which part of the storage medium the program is stored, to the channel selection unit. The tuning unit 36 stores the address, the recorded program, and the degree of interest of the category to which the program belongs in association with each other.

Next, when reproducing the recorded program, the VTR 812 and the reproduction 814 keys of the remote controller 30 are pressed, and the user is specified by the user key 800. When accepting such an operation, the tuning means 36
Among the recorded programs, the address corresponding to the program corresponding to the highest degree of interest to the user is output to the reproduction means 41E as the reproduction signal 41F. The reproduction means 41E creates the information designated by the reproduction signal 41F out of the information that is not recorded in the recording means 41B and is output, and outputs it.
Output to. Further, the channel selection means 36 controls the output means 40 so that the reproduction means 41E outputs the reproduced information signal to the editing means 7A. On the other hand, the storage means 41B is
When this signal is received, the program is reproduced from the received address and output to the output means 40. As a result, the program with the highest degree of interest among the recorded programs for the user is reproduced and displayed on the monitor 8A. The reproduction of the next candidate recorded program is accepted by inputting the candidate key 809 of the remote controller 30. Alternatively, the next candidate recorded program is automatically reproduced after the reproduction is completed.

As described above, according to the television system of the second embodiment, the user can record a program belonging to a category having a high degree of interest, and watch the program at any time.

Next, the survey terminal 43 will be described.

FIG. 17 shows the structure of the survey terminal 43.

The access history storage means 4A in the remote controller 30 outputs the classification of programs having a high degree of interest for each individual to the survey terminal 43 through the output terminal by the output means 21A. This information is stored in the transmission data storage means 52 via the transmission means 51, and then the market trend survey storage means 53.
Stored in. This stored information is stored in the floppy via the output means 55 or processed in a processing center via a transmission system such as a telephone line to determine who is interested in what kind of program. , It is used to determine what category of programs are commonly seen.

On the other hand, the audience rating survey storage means 54 is a means for storing what classification the program selected by the channel selection means 36 of the remote controller 30 belongs to. When the access history information as shown in FIG. 11 is used, information indicating what kind of program is selected in what kind of time zone as shown in FIG. 18 instead of classification by user. Memorize In any case, if one program is classified into one category, these pieces of information can be obtained for each program.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, the information service system according to the first embodiment can be applied to the television system, and the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained. it can.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The third embodiment is another example of the television system. The television 38A according to the third embodiment is shown in FIG.
Access history management means 4A, interest information index presentation means 9A, template access information storage means 10A, comparison means 11A, individual shortage information determination means 12A, output means 21A, program information storage means provided in the remote controller 30 shown in FIG. 33, a user-specific access information classification unit 34, a channel selection unit 36, and an OR input unit 44 are added to the configuration of the television 38 of the second embodiment. The user identification determination means 1A, the activation means 22, the channel selection input means 35, the interest level input means 60, the classification sequence selection means 63, and the access history resetting means 70 in the third embodiment are provided in the remote controller.

Although the third embodiment is different from the second embodiment in structure as described above, it has the same operational effect as the second embodiment.

In the fourth embodiment, the access history managing means 4A, the interest information index presenting means 9A, the template access information storing means 10A, the comparing means 11A, the individual shortage information determining means 12A, the outputting means 21A and the program information are described. This is an embodiment in which the storage unit 33, the user-specific access information classification unit 34, the channel selection unit 36, and the OR input unit 44 are provided in the recording device 41 instead of the television as in the third embodiment.
Also in this embodiment, it is possible to obtain the same effects as those of the second embodiment.

In the fifth embodiment, although illustration is omitted,
A television in which the recording device 41 and the television 38A in which the recording device 41 is incorporated in the television 38A in the third embodiment shown in FIG. 19 is integrated. This embodiment can also obtain the same operational effect as the second embodiment.

Further, in the above embodiments, the degree of interest was learned from the actual use situation, but the user may be allowed to directly set the degree of interest. For example, in the second embodiment, the interest level input key 807 of the user's remote controller 30
In response to the operation, the interest level input means 60 updates or adds the contents of the access history information of the user of the access history management means 4A. In this case, according to the operation of the interest level input key 807, direct classification or input of the interest level of the classification may be accepted, but an example of the classification prepared in advance and the interest level of the classification is displayed on the monitor, On the display,
The category selected by operating the interest level input key 807 and the interest level of the category may be accepted. Also, the interest level input key 8
In response to the operation of 07, the genre or field to which the interest level is updated is accepted, the category belonging to the accepted genre or field is displayed on the monitor, and the interest level input key 8 is displayed.
The classification selected by the operation of 07 may be accepted as a classification for changing or adding the interest level.

Further, as the degree of interest, the priority of selection of the classification may be directly set.

By allowing the user to directly set the degree of interest in this way, when the user's interest changes suddenly, or when information or programs of exceptional interest occur. Can also be accommodated.

Further, in the above embodiments, it is assumed that there are a plurality of users, but in a system where there is always one user, it is not necessary to manage the degree of interest for each user. Since it does not exist, the processing related to the user and the part that performs these processing may be omitted.

The information service system according to the first embodiment can be applied to the radio system in the same manner as in the second embodiment. In the configuration in this case, the monitor 8A serves as a speaker and the output information of the editing means 7A serves as sound information. Other functions are similar to these. In addition,
The above-mentioned channel selection reason and index are output by voice or displayed on a remote control equipped with a display. As a result, it becomes possible to automatically select a program corresponding to the interest of the user for both wired radio and wireless radio.

As described above, according to each embodiment of the present invention, the user does not need to select information while referring to the information list of the information source, and the operation for identifying the user can be performed. Only by carrying out, it becomes possible to easily obtain the information that the user is interested in, likes or desires.

Further, it becomes possible for the user to easily grasp the lacking information without performing a troublesome operation.
Therefore, the present invention is a general information acquisition system,
Further, it can be applied to various fields such as mass media fields such as televisions and radios, or market trend fields.

[0152]

As described above, according to the present invention, the information desired by the user can be easily estimated, and the information desired by the user can be appropriately provided.

Also, information that the user lacks can be notified to the user.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information service system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing information classification used in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation flow of the information service system according to the first example of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of selection reasons in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of indexes in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of operations of the information service system according to the first example of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a television system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of a remote controller according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an operational flow of the television system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a display example of the reason for selection in the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of access history information used in the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of access history information used in the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of access history information used in the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a neural network system that learns access history information.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an operation flow of the television system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a recording device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a survey terminal according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of information stored in an audience rating survey storage means according to the second example of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing another configuration example of the television system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 1A user identification determination means 2 Information selection input means 3, 34 User access information classification means 4, 4A access history storage means 5 Interest information selection means 6 information sources 7, 7A Editing means 9, 9A Interest information index presenting means 10, 10A template access information storage means 11, 11A comparison means 12, 12A Means for determining individual lack information 36 Tuning means 30 remote control 41 Recording device 43 Survey terminal

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] February 24, 2003 (2003.2.2)
4)

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be amended] Claims

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Claims]

[Procedure Amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0002

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There are systems in various fields in which a user performs various operations to select desired information from a plurality of information and obtain it. For example, many information service systems such as television receivers, radio receivers, electronic mail systems, and database systems are known.

[Procedure 3]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0005

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

In other words , this technology selects a user's information by presenting a list of information included in an information source in an information service system and accepting selection of information based on the presented information list. It can be said that this is a technology that supports

[Procedure amendment 4]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0009

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[0009] In addition, an object of the present invention to provide an information service system that can be notified of the missing information to take to the user.

[Procedure Amendment 5]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0034

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

When the confirmation information 19 continues for a certain period, or when the user is accessing the information displayed on the monitor 8, the access history management means 4 first temporarily stores it in the memory 4b. The interest degree of the information classification designated by the classification designation data in the access history information of the user identified by the user identification information is updated (step 310). That is, the degree of interest in the information classification corresponding to the corresponding user is called from the memory 4b and updated in the direction of increasing the degree of interest. The new interest level obtained by the update is associated with the corresponding information classification and stored in the memory 4b as access history information. The process of step 310 as described above is a process of learning the classification in which the user is interested based on the access information of the user. Details of how to obtain the interest level in the update will be described later. The access history management means 4
If the access history information of the user has not been created yet, create it at this point. If the access history information does not include the information classification item specified by the classification designation data, the information classification item is created in the access history information at this point, and the obtained interest level is registered in the memory 4b. To do.

[Procedure correction 6]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0036

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

In step 303, if the user-specific access information classification means 3 determines that the mode designated by the request information from the information selection input means 2 is the automatic mode, the user-specific access information is accessed. information classification means 3 outputs only the user identification information for identifying the user in the access history management means 4 (step 312). Upon receiving this, the access history management means 4 stores access history information (stored in the memory 4b) about the user specified by the user identification information.
Of the plurality of information classifications for the specified user, the information classification having the highest degree of interest is output to the interest information selecting means 5 as classification designation data (step 313). This information category with the highest degree of interest is the information category in which the user is interested.

[Procedure Amendment 7]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0039

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

It should be noted that the determination as to whether or not the information belonging to the relevant information classification exists in the information source 6 is performed by, for example, the information source 6
There is a match with the de - Wa - Wa - - keys that are assigned to previously are denoted by the de, information classification key that matches match or a part with de - word - split with a key to the information classification is information It can be realized by determining whether or not.

[Procedure Amendment 8]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0055

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

The access history management means 4 determines that there are a plurality of pieces of information that belong to the information category of high interest to the user, or that there are multiple pieces of information category of high interest to the user.
The index of each information belonging to these information classifications is displayed on the monitor. Of Table indicated multiple indexes, the index of the information to be available to the user, when selected, accepted from interest Indekkkusu presentation means, so as information corresponding to this index is selected from the information source 6. The information classification having a high degree of interest to the user is an information classification in which the user is interested.

[Procedure Amendment 9]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0068

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

Even when the interest information index presenting means 9 is used, the degree of interest may be managed or processed for each use situation described above.

[Procedure Amendment 10]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0070

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

The template access information storage means 10 stores template access information indicating a model of information classification to be used by each user or users belonging to a specific group. This template access information is necessary for obtaining general knowledge about various fields, and is the item information of the information classification to which the information necessary for obtaining specialized knowledge about a specific field belongs. or an item information of the information classification that such information belongs. The content depends on what purpose the user is trying to obtain the information.

[Procedure Amendment 11]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0080

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

As shown in the figure, the television system according to the second embodiment includes a television 38, a recording device 41, a remote controller 30 for controlling them, a remote controller 42 for copying or receiving information stored in the remote controller 30, and a survey. Terminal 4
Have three.

[Procedure Amendment 12]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0099

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

The access history management means 4A executes step 9
If the determination result in 08 is positive, that is, if there is no input of another operation for a certain period after outputting the information for channel selection to the channel selection means 36, or if the consent information 18A is output,
In the access history information of the user designated by the user identification information, the degree of interest of the category designated by the temporarily designated category designation data is updated (step 909). Step 909 is
Similar to step 310 described above, based on the access information of the user, it is a process of learning the classification the user has taste Xing. Access history information used in the second embodiment,
Details of program classification and interest level learning will be described later.

[Procedure Amendment 13]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0120

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

Now, when the interest level is updated in the channel selection mode or the automatic mode (step 909), the access history management means 4A causes the learning of such a neural network as follows. When the user identification information specifies the user A, the switching control unit selects the neural network 403A corresponding to the user A by the switching units 402 and 403. And step 90
If the determination result in 8 is positive, that is, if there is no operation input for a certain period of time after the information for channel selection is output to the channel selection unit 36,
Alternatively, when the consent information 18A is output, or when a program is selected using an index described later,
Ri by the signal 430, Manabu習制control unit 405, the learning control means 405 refers to the program information storage unit 32, the input of the neural network 403A selected 4011-4
Of 01i, the one corresponding to the classification to which the program currently being broadcast belongs has a value of 1, and the other have a value of 0, and output 4
Of 021 to 402i, learning data in which the output value corresponding to the classification to which the selected program belongs is 1 and the other output values are 0 is created and stored. Then, the neural network is trained using the learning control signal together with the learning data created in the past. In this way, the degree of interest in each classification is learned by giving an example of actual program selection to the neural network. In particular,
The neural network determines the weight inside the neural network connecting the input and the output from the given examples of the input and the output. The learning data used for learning is
Only the learning data created this time and the learning data for a certain past period from the present may be used.

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Claims (34)

[Claims] 1. A learning means for learning a classification in which the user is interested from the access information of the user, and extracting information belonging to the classification from an information source based on the learned classification in which the user is interested. An information service system comprising: an information selecting means to provide. 2. Learning means for learning a classification in which the user is interested based on input information of the user, and extracting information belonging to the classification from an information source based on the learned classification in which the user is interested. An information service system comprising: an information selecting means to provide. 3. Based on the means for judging the classification to which the information accessed by the user belongs among the plurality of classifications, the means for storing the number of times of access to the judged classification, and the number of times of access stored in the storage means. An information service system, comprising: information selecting means for extracting and providing information belonging to the specified classification from an information source. 4. A means for identifying a user is provided, wherein the learning means learns for each user a classification in which the user is interested, and the information selecting means is interested in the user identified by the user identifying means. The information service system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the information belonging to the classification is extracted from the information source and provided based on the classification having the classification. 5. The storage means for storing a plurality of information classified into a plurality of classifications as the information source.
Or 2 information service system. 6. The information selecting means extracts information belonging to the classification from a plurality of information transmitted from the broadcasting station which is the information source, based on the learned classification of the user. The information service system according to claim 1, which is provided. 7. A display device and, when there are a plurality of pieces of information retrieved from the information source by the information selecting means, means for outputting index information corresponding to these pieces of information, wherein the information selecting means comprises: The information service system according to claim 1, wherein information corresponding to the index information selected by the user among the plurality of index information displayed on the display device is output to be displayed on the display device. 8. A means for storing a plurality of classifications to be used by a user, and a search for a classification other than the classification of interest to the user among the plurality of classifications stored in the storage means. The information service system according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: 9. A class including a class to which information accessed by a user belongs among a plurality of classes, wherein the learning unit is a class in which the user is interested based on the number of times the class is accessed. The information service system according to claim 1, for learning. 10. Learning means for learning the degree of interest of each user from each category based on the access information of the user to each category, and information about the information belonging to the category specified based on the learned degree of interest of the user. An information service system, comprising: an information selecting unit that takes out from a source and provides the information. 11. A learning means for learning a classification in which the user is interested from the access information of the user, and a selection for selecting a broadcast program belonging to the classification based on the learned classification in which the user is interested. A controller provided with a channel selection means for outputting a station command to a broadcast receiver or a recording device. 12. Learning means for learning a classification in which the user is interested from the input access information of the user,
Based on the learned class of interest of the user, a tuning unit that outputs a tuning command that selects a broadcasting program belonging to the classification, and information of the broadcasting program based on the tuning command. A broadcast information receiving apparatus comprising: a unit for taking in a plurality of pieces of information transmitted from the device; and a device for outputting the information of the taken broadcast program. 13. Learning means for learning a classification in which the user is interested from the input access information of the user,
Based on the learned class of interest of the user, a tuning unit that outputs a tuning command that selects a broadcasting program belonging to the classification, and information of the broadcasting program based on the tuning command. And a means for recording the information of the received broadcast program, and a means for reproducing and outputting the information of the broadcast program recorded by the recording means. A recording device characterized by the above. 14. Learning means for learning a classification in which the user is interested from the input access information of the user,
Based on the learned class of interest to the user, a tuning unit that outputs a tuning command to select a broadcast program belonging to the class, and broadcast the broadcast program information based on the tuning command. First information fetching means for fetching from a plurality of information transmitted from the station, an output device for outputting information of the broadcast program fetched by the first information fetching means, and tuning station outputted by the tuning means Second information capturing means for capturing the information of the broadcast program from a plurality of information transmitted from the broadcasting station based on the command, and means for recording the information of the broadcast program captured by the second information capturing means. And a means for reproducing the information of the broadcast program recorded by the recording means and outputting the information to the output device. 15. An information service system comprising means for accepting designation of information desired by a user, and means for taking out designated information from an information source and presenting it to the user. Means for determining the classification to which the
Learning means for learning the degree of interest of each user from the usage status of information belonging to each category, means for determining the most interesting category of the user according to the learned degree of interest, and An information service system comprising: interest information selecting means for reading and presenting information belonging to a category having the highest degree of interest from the information source. 16. The information service system according to claim 15, further comprising means for determining a situation at the time of use, wherein the learning means is a use situation of information belonging to each classification under each situation of the user. According to the, learn the degree of interest in each category of the user under each situation, the interest information selection means reads information belonging to the category of the highest degree of interest under the determined situation from the information source Information service system characterized by presenting. 17. The information service system according to claim 15, further comprising means for identifying a user, wherein the learning means uses, for each user, the use status of information belonging to each classification of the user. Depending on the, learn the degree of interest in each category of the user, the interest information selection means, read the information belonging to the category of the user of the highest interest degree from the information source, and present it. Characteristic information service system. 18. The information service system according to claim 17, further comprising means for determining a situation at the time of use, wherein the learning means is provided for each user under each situation of the user. Depending on the usage status of the information belonging to the classification, learn the degree of interest in each classification of the user under each situation, the interest information selection means, the identified user, the most interest degree under the determined situation An information service system, wherein information belonging to a high category is read from the information source and presented. 19. The information service system according to claim 17, wherein a means for generating and presenting an index of each piece of information belonging to a category having a high degree of interest to the identified user and included in each of the presented indexes. And a means for accepting a selection of a specific index from the user, wherein the interest information selecting means reads out information corresponding to the index for which the selection is accepted from the information source and presents the information. Service system. 20. The information service system according to claim 17, wherein the interest information selecting means reads out information belonging to a category having the highest degree of interest of the identified user from the information source and stores the information. An information service system characterized by presenting it together with at least one of information for identifying a category to which it belongs and information indicating a degree of interest of a user who has logarithmically identified the category to which the information belongs 21. The information service system according to claim 18, comprising means for outputting the learned degree of interest of each user in each situation to the outside. 22. The information service system according to claim 17, wherein during the presentation of the specific information, the interest information selection means determines that the degree of interest of the identified user is based on the classification to which the information being presented belongs. When the information belonging to a high classification is updated or added to the information source, the information updated or added to the information source is read from the information source, and the information currently in use is added. An information service system characterized by being presented instead. 23. The information service system according to claim 17, wherein during the presentation of the specific information, the degree of interest of the identified user is updated so that the information belonging to a higher category than the category to which the information being presented belongs. Or, when added to the information source, means for generating and presenting the index of the information updated or added to the information source, and means for accepting the selection by the user of each presented index. The information service system, wherein the interest information selecting means reads out information corresponding to the received index from the information source and presents the information when the selection of the index is received. 24. The information service system according to claim 17, wherein the interest level of the user identified by the interest information selecting means is the same level as the category to which the information read from the information source belongs. If the source contains information to which it belongs,
An index of information belonging to the same level category is generated and presented together with the read information, and the interest level of the user who is identified by the interest information selection means as the category to which the information read from the information source belongs If the information source does not include information belonging to the same level of classification, the information about the information belonging to the level of high interest of the user identified next to the class to which the information read from the information source belongs A means for generating an index and presenting it together with the read information, and a means for accepting the selection of each index presented by the user, wherein the interest information selecting means accepts the selection of the index when accepted. An information service system, wherein information corresponding to the index is read from the information source and presented. 25. The information service system according to claim 17, wherein: means for storing template information for specifying, for each user, a classification to be used by each user; And a means for presenting information for identifying the determined category, which is a category specified by the template information that has been determined and which is not of high interest to the identified user. Information service system. 26. An information service system comprising means for accepting designation of information desired by a user and means for taking out designated information from an information source and presenting it to the user. Means for storing template information that specifies the classification to be used, means for determining the classification to which the information used by the user belongs, and learning the degree of interest of each user from the usage status of information belonging to each classification A learning means; and a means for judging a classification specified by the stored template information, which is not of high interest to the user, and presenting information for identifying the judged classification. An information service system characterized in that 27. A receiver capable of receiving a plurality of broadcast channels that respectively broadcast programs classified into a plurality of categories according to the contents, an output device for outputting the received programs, and a user's request for use. A broadcast receiving system having means for accepting designation of a broadcast channel for broadcasting a program, and means for receiving the designated broadcast channel and controlling the receiver to output the content of the received program to the output means. And a means for storing the broadcast schedule of each program, a means for determining the program used by the user by referring to the stored broadcast schedule, a means for determining the classification to which the determined program belongs, A learning method for learning the user's interest level in each category based on the usage status of programs, and the user's highest interest level is determined according to the learned interest level. Referring to the stored broadcast schedule,
A program that is currently being broadcast and belongs to a category that has the highest degree of interest to the user is determined, the broadcast channel that is broadcasting the determined program is received, and the content of the received program is output to the output means. And a channel selection means for controlling the receiver so that the broadcast receiving system. 28. The broadcast receiving system according to claim 27, further comprising means for identifying a user, wherein the learning means, for each user, the usage status of programs belonging to each classification of the user. Further, the degree of interest of each user for each classification is learned, and the tuning unit refers to the stored broadcast schedule, is a program currently being broadcast, and has the highest interest level of the identified user. A broadcast receiving system characterized by determining a program belonging to, receiving a broadcast channel broadcasting the determined program, and controlling the receiver to output the content of the received program to the output means. 29. The broadcast receiving system according to claim 28, further comprising means for determining a situation at the time of use, wherein the learning means is provided for each user under each situation of the user. From the usage status of programs belonging to the classification, the degree of interest of each user in each classification is learned, and the tuning unit is the program currently being broadcast, and the judged status of the identified user. Controlling the receiver so as to determine a program belonging to the highest interest category below, receive a broadcast channel broadcasting the determined program, and output the content of the received program to the output means. A broadcast receiving system characterized by. 30. The broadcast receiving system according to claim 29, wherein the situation at the time of use is a day of use, a time of use, a user's mood, or a combination thereof. Broadcast receiving system. 31. The broadcast receiving system according to claim 29, further comprising means for outputting the learned degree of interest of each user under each situation to the outside. 32. The broadcast receiving system according to claim 28, wherein means for storing template information for specifying the classification to be used by each user for each user, and the storage for the identified user. And a means for presenting information for identifying the determined category, which is a category specified by the template information that has been determined and which is not of high interest to the identified user. Broadcast receiving system. 33. The broadcast receiving system according to claim 28, wherein means for generating and presenting an index of each program belonging to a category having a high degree of interest of the identified user, and included in the presented indexes. And a means for accepting a selection of a specific index from the user, wherein the tuning means refers to the stored broadcast schedule, and selects a broadcast channel broadcasting a program corresponding to the index for which the selection is accepted. A broadcast receiving system, characterized in that the receiver is controlled to receive and output the content of the received program to the output means. 34. A remote controller for remotely controlling a broadcast receiver, comprising a means for inputting an identification of a user of the broadcast receiver.